Feds release rules for states to decide whether to run PPACA-related health exchanges

By Heather Stauffer,
December 3, 2012 at 10:00 AM
- Last modified: December 3, 2012 at 10:30 AM

On Friday, 13 days before the deadline for states to declare if they're going to run their own health insurance exchanges, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services released nearly 400 pages of proposed exchange regulations.

States that do not choose to run their own or partnership exchanges will default to a federally run exchange. Pennsylvania has not yet announced its choice, with state officials repeatedly citing the lack of regulatory guidance as a hindrance.

According to the proposal, the cost of running federal exchanges would be funded by a surcharge on participating insurers – 3.5 percent of monthly premiums in 2014.

The exchanges are to be open to individuals and businesses with fewer than 100 employees in 2014, with enrollment beginning in October 2013. The federal government has given states billions of dollars to start the exchanges, but the exchanges are to be self-supporting by 2015.

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